10 THINGS TO DO IN...
10 Things to Do in Vancouver
Explore this Pacific Coast city and embrace its natural beauty while supporting sustainable practices.
By Stephanie Wallcraft
With just over 1,000 acres, Vancouver's Stanley Park is one-fifth larger than New York City's Central Park. | PHOTO: MICHAEL WHEATLEY/ALAMY
WITH ITS VIBRANT CULTURE AND MILD CLIMATE, Vancouver is a true year-round destination. It’s also consistently ranked among the top 10 greenest cities in the world. To help it reach its goals of halving carbon pollution before 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2050, visit during the off-season. This reduces your carbon footprint in several ways: for one, you’ll reduce traffic congestion, producing lower carbon emissions. Fewer crowds reduces your wait times and, as a bonus, spreads out the demand on infrastructure more evenly, allowing for more efficiency, less overload and fewer supplemental services required to support the crowds.
If you’ve never visited, head for the essentials like Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium, and Granville Island. But if you’re looking for an excuse to return — and who among us isn’t? — here are 10 things that just might pull you back to the immense beauty of this mountain- and oceanside city.
VISIT QUEEN ELIZABETH PARK AND VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN. As the highest point in the city, Queen Elizabeth Park offers excellent views of the North Shore Mountains and the downtown skyline. Check out the spectacular fall colours, sculptures, landscaped quarry garden and the tropical Bloedel Conservatory. Just a 15-minute walk away, the VanDusen Botanical Garden offers a year-round respite with spring and summer blossoms transitioning to golden fall leaves on sugar maple, bald cypress and ginkgo trees. DISCOVER AN AUTHENTIC NIGHT MARKET. The Richmond Night Market in Vancouver is genuinely unique as North America’s largest. With a vast array of Asian street food from more than 100 stalls, offering hundreds of dishes, the market authentically recreates the lively, sensory experience of traditional Asian night markets — which can even be viewed from a 600-foot zipline that runs across the market overhead. Open until mid-October, it’s a truly vibrant cultural destination — a fresh and exciting blend of food, shopping and entertainment. DINE AT AN OCEAN WISE RESTAURANT. Ocean Wise is a global organization that works in many industries to help protect and conserve the world’s oceans. Headquartered in Vancouver, it works with restaurants, businesses and consumers to choose sustainably caught or farmed seafood. Dine at a restaurant that has partnered with Ocean Wise — there are several throughout the city, including the local chain Cactus Club Cafe and Michelin-recommended restaurants such as the Homer Street Cafe and Fanny Bay Oyster Bar.
The Richmond Night Market, with more than 100 food and retail stalls, is a pageant of sounds, smells and tastes. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF RICHMOND NIGHT MKT
TAKE A DAY TRIP TO NORTH VANCOUVER. If you’ve never been to North Vancouver, you may wish to brave the crowds at the popular Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge. But if you prefer to explore for free and off the beaten path, drive up to the Cypress Mountain Highview Lookout for spectacular city views. Then hike out to the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, which hangs 50 metres (167 feet) above Lynn Creek, surrounded by temperate rainforest. LEARN AT THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. If you only make time for one museum in Vancouver, make it this one. It offers a fascinating walk through human history on Canada’s west coast, from the totems in the Great Hall to the galleries packed with work from diverse artists. While you’re there, visit the nearby Nitobe Memorial Garden, which is styled in the traditional Japanese way. SET OUT FOR CRAFT BEER. Hop around and explore some of Vancouver’s 70-plus craft breweries. The neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant is a hot spot for this: check out Main Street Brewing Company, Brassneck Brewery, 33 Acres Brewing, and Electric Bicycle Brewing, just for a start. Main Street in Mount Pleasant is also popular for locally owned fashion boutiques, foodie-friendly eats and more than 100 murals.
Cycling on the Stanley Park Seawall is a one-way, counter-clockwise 10-kilometre trail. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF TED MCGRATH
WALK OR BIKE THE ENTIRE VANCOUVER SEAWALL. The nine-kilometre Stanley Park Seawall is familiar to many, but it’s just one part of the 28-kilometre Seaside Greenway, the longest uninterrupted waterfront pathway in the world.
SHOP OFF THE BEATEN PATH. Skip the big-brand stores and shop Vancouver’s lesser-known neighbourhoods. Kerrisdale Village has more than 200 boutiques and cafés, many of which are locally owned, where well-heeled locals step out to spend. Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, home to the city’s Little Italy, has a bohemian, multicultural and inclusive vibe. For an under-the-radar alternative to Granville Island, hop on a SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay to shop more than 60 vendors and artists. FIND A QUIET SPOT TO WATCH A SUNSET. You could head to English Bay Beach or Kitsilano Beach to watch one of Vancouver’s signature sunsets with everyone else, or you could visit Sunset Beach instead. It’s tucked in between those two more popular spots and tends to be a little quieter. Take a stroll to check out nearby sculptures, like the Inukshuk and the giant engagement rings. STAY AT VANCOUVER'S MOST SUSTAINABLE HOTELS. According to a 2022 study by U.K. data-comparison organization Uswitch, 44 percent of Vancouver’s hotels have sustainability initiatives — more than any other city in the world. The Fairmont Waterfront is a founding Ocean Wise member and maintains a rooftop garden and honeybee habitat. The Listel Hotel uses solar panels and has been zero-waste since 2011. And if you skip a stayover room cleaning at the Sutton Place Hotel, five trees will be planted on your behalf, including in areas in Canada that are wildfire-affected. These are just a few examples of how Vancouver accommodations are stepping up to help the planet.